So Ive been on the hunt for a while now how to get the best resolution, highest magnification, images for the lowest price.
I would like to see if there is enough interest in doing a pass around of a calibration slide I have recently been using for my own tests?
This would allow us all to see definitively how scope brand X compares to brand Y and evaluate cost VS value with the hope that someone out there has a clear winner and a benchmark for future scopes to be compared to.
Heres the test slide(bottom glass rectangle). Inside the circle is a 1mm scale with one hundred .01mm increment marks.
This is from my “x400 power” I paid $20 for. You can clearly see the marks but thats as low as it can go…
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If everyone thinks it would be a fun experiment to compare our gear, let me know and we can put together a mailing list and send it around to those that would like to partake.
I’ve got a similar stage micrometer from Ted Pella Inc that I believe is very accurate. They ship them with inspection reports and serial numbers, so I’m hopeful it can be trusted. Here are some shots from my newest scope, a Dino-Lite AM4515T8:
Clay is that Dino-Lite AM4515TA about the best you have found out on the market? With its higher resolution can it zoom in tighter and still be clear enough to view? Great clarity BTW!
I have a scope very similar to Bills and agreeably its good enough for Government work at the level it can magnify to for $20, but I find myself constantly desiring to peer closer at the apex. The SEM shots from Greg have literally ruined me. I even mounted a pocket scope on top of the usb scope and made this contraption:
with results less then stellar but definitely showing the MAX magnification I can reach with the $30 in parts I have laying around.
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This is what got me interested in the idea of passing around the slide so everyone could see how their setup compares and maybe there becomes a clear bang for the buck winner. I think your Dino 4515 will be hard to beat in the unlimited division tho. LOL
Basically Clays post removes the need to send around the slide since he has already shown what to expect from 3 scopes in the middle to high range. The clarity of the am4515 is super crisp at the .01mm scale(all his pictures) but I was hoping there was tech out there that could possibly get closer.
Ive read there is a theoretical limit for optical scopes due to wave length of light or something super technical. I know for traditional optical scopes the make high power lens but you need to view through a drop of oil. Another hurdle…
If Clay’s scope has that clarity and resolution I was hoping it could zoom in further like I was trying to do in my blurry final pic. *fingers crossed"
There are lots of scopes that can get you closer. My AmScope goes to 2000x and gives very clear pictures. The nice thing about that scope is that you can use different lenses to go from 20x all the way to 2000x. In my experience, the best images are with the 800x lens. I’ll try to dig up some photos taken at that magnification for you.
The AmScope is great, I got the other Dino-Lite to replace one that died. The AmScope is a traditional microscope so it’s not as versatile for holding knives. I use it a lot when I’m comparing grits and techniques and using utility blades.
The thing about the 2000# lens is that the depth of field really limits what you can see to a small area. Even a little curvature on the bevel means that only a small portion will be in focus. I’ve played around image stacking to get a deeper depth of field but so far I haven’t been too impressed with it.
I can understand the shallow focal depth but at that magnification its just awe inspiring, exactly what I was hoping was technically possible(and totally out of my price zone).
I am gonna mail the slide to Josh and from there it can travel as it will. Although Clays scopes will be tough to beat I still think an apples to apples comparison may reveal a standout mid-price unit. Who knows? Anybody else interested in giving the test slide a sampling please chime in and Josh can send it on from there next week.
This is a great way to really see what equipment, can do what, for what price. Invaluable information IMHO to help people in the future make informed purchase decisions.
Clay thanks so much for posting your images and I hope if your not too super busy the calibration slide can make it to you for a few quick side by sides as well. Im dying to see what it looks like under your x2000. Amazing gear, like peering into an alien world…that we are terraforming blindfolded, well some of us are anyway.
My experience with my scope (an older VEHO, but I’ve heard similar stories from others) is that the main challenge is not so much magnification/resolution, but getting an adequate focus. Even if the depth of focus is really small, how are your experiences with this?
My only experience has been with the $20 no name “x400” scope. It’s definitely better then nothing but leaves much to be desired for resolution. It reminds me of trying to watch standard definition TV or youtube in 480 mode. Grainy n makes my eyes strain to see between the pixels.
Compare my first picture to Clays and you can see whereither my grid is fuzzy his is super crisp edged. I guess to answer I’d think they are both important. Mine has adequate magnification but the resolution is holding it back. Ofcourse I want BOTH a high mega pixel CCD and high magnification…at the lowest price possible naturally.
Actually, the high mega-pixel sensor doesn’t add anything from what I can see, if you’re going to be using a computer monitor at wide-screen high def, 2 Mp is about all it can display anyway at 1920 X 1080. And that’s a pretty good image. Even when zooming in on a photo image, 5Mp is only about double the resolution and the improvement is barely noticeable from 2Mp.
My Celestron 5Mp focuses at about 50X and 180X when displayed on my monitor. I almost never use the higher magnification setting. The lower setting has a better depth-of-field and clearer image than the higher setting. Much less frustrating to use. It seems that at the higher setting, every time I move the camera I have to re-focus.
I’ve tried four different 'scopes and found one of the most important features is having a tight but smoothly operating focus adjustment. A loose adjustment will move out of focus almost every time you take your finger off the knob.
